The Role of the Breath in Stress Reduction
by Charlene Fox

The simple practice of long deep breathing can have many positive
effects: it will lengthen the life, cleanse the body of toxins,
relax and calm, help fight depression, increase lung capacity,
increase intuition, bring clarity and patience to the mind, and help
keep the emotions neutral. The sages of old taught that we are all
given the same number of breaths, but because of lifestyle choices
we diminish and use up our breath faster. If a person is overweight
or is a smoker for example, the breath is more shallow and faster.
In other words the breath is used up faster. We can therefore
lengthen our life by lengthening our breath with the regular
practice of pranayama. Most people are unaware that they are
breathing only into the top one third of their lungs. Envision your
lungs as a pitcher that will be filled with water. On each inhale
you will fill the pitcher from the bottom all the way to the top,
and on the exhale empty the pitcher from the top all the way to the
bottom. The alveoli inside the lungs are filled with tiny
capillaries which carry oxygen into the bloodstream. If the alveoli
were to be flattened out, they would cover an area 1/2 the size of a
football field. This is a powerful visual aid in helping us to
understand the role that our breath has in helping us to stay
healthy. As we oxygenate the bloodstream, bringing its life-giving
force deeper into the internal organs, toxins are released and
flushed out through the bloodstream. In this way the breath helps us
to stay healthy.

Breathing deeply with control can also help us to stay mentally and
emotionally balanced. Imbalances in breathing will disturb
physiological functions of the body, which feeds such physical
disturbances as asthma, migraine headaches, and hypertension, to
name a few. Recognizing the flow of the breath is the first step.
Just sitting quietly, with focused attention, observing shallow or
irregular breathing, can bring some correction. As you increase your
sensitivity, your awareness is increased. As your awareness
increases, so you begin to physically relax into the practice, the
mind beginning to release its grip on, and attachment to, certain
thoughts, ideas, or fantasies. Over a lifetime, traumatic
experiences, whether mental, emotional, spiritual or physical, may
be held and locked into the physical body. We experience this as
dysfunction both within the physical body and in our mental make-up.

As the mind begins to relax, there comes with it a certain clarity
of thought. This in itself helps improve our intuition and decision
making process. As we move through life, it seems all those voices
of school and religious teachers, parents, friends, etc. begin to
crowd tighter and tighter into the space of our mind until we no
longer know our own mind. Our decisions become a function of what
others think is the right thing to do. As we relax the breath, we
begin to fade out the clatter of these other voices, bringing our
own truth to the fore. We begin to just know the right thing to do.
It is amazing how many yoga students begin to make major life
changing decisions after a few months of yoga practice (with lots of
deep breathing, of course).

One of the "side effects" of all this deep breathing, is that the
beginner may experience dizziness or light-headedness because they
aren't used to the level of oxygen that is introduced into the
body.
The lungs, just like any muscle in the body, build up their
endurance through regular practice, and the symptoms will subside in
a very short time. Typically, people will notice a change in their
breathing pattern and endurance within the first few weeks of
practice. As endurance increases, aerobic capacity also increases.
As a result, people with an active lifestyle find that a regular
practice of pranayama will enhance other physical activities.

With the expansion of awareness and the opening of the energy
centers, we find our tolerance for dysfunction and dis-ease in our
life lessened. We can never go back to our former state of existence.

Breath is the barometer of our energy and vitality as we age. It is
the foundation of our awareness and our moods. Without it we would
die, yet we pay little attention to it. Very little time is required
to master the breath, yet it can enhance every aspect of our life.

Here are a couple of basic breathing techniques to help quiet the
mind and calm the nervous system.

Sitali Pranayam:

Sit quietly in a chair or on the floor and close the eyes. Extend a
curled tongue slightly through the lips as you inhale through the
tongue, close the mouth and exhale through the nose. The breath
should be long and deep, slowed to 4 breaths per minute. Continue
for at least 26 rounds. Let the belly be soft so that when you
inhale the stomach expands and when you exhale it will contract.

This breath cools the internal body, relaxes the mind and is great
to do before bed to help you sleep.

4/4 Breath

Sit on the floor or in a chair with the palms flat together in a
prayer position, with the hands in front of the heart and the eyes
focused between the brows behind closed lids. Inhale breaking the
breath into 4 parts and exhale in 4 parts stretching the breath to
take about 8 seconds per round. Keep the belly soft as you breathe
and put a slight pressure between the palms throughout the practice.
Try to do this exercise for about 5 minutes.

This breath helps you to re-energize, relax and combat fatigue and
negative emotion when you only have a quick break to get it back
together.